1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to the field of packet processing systems and handling encrypted and non-encrypted packet traffic such systems, and also to the field of networked devices such as network storage devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various computing systems and related devices are becoming increasingly networked. While computer systems (e.g. personal computers, or PCs, servers, etc.) have been networked for some time, other devices have recently been networked as well. For example, storage systems are being networked in various ways such as storage area networks (SANs) implemented using various protocols (e.g. Fiber Channel over Internet Protocol (FCIP) or Small Computer Systems Interface over TCP/IP (iSCSI)) or network attached storage (NAS). Such storage solutions include storage devices and circuitry to communicate using various network protocols such as Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
While networking is becoming more ubiquitous, it is also a rapidly changing field with new standards being developed and older standards being modified. Additionally, as publicly available networks such as the Internet are increasingly being used as part of the network, encryption of networked traffic is becoming more prevalent. Accordingly, networked computer systems and storage devices may be required to handle both encrypted and non-encrypted network traffic.